Black Mirror causes searches for Netflix T&Cs to soar by 596%
Searches for Netflix’s terms and conditions increase almost sixfold over the weekend after ‘Joan is Awful’ premiere…
The newest season of Charlie Brooker's dystopian hit series Black Mirror prompted many viewers to rethink how quickly they accept the terms and conditions of a service without reading them.
UK, US and Australia residents are particularly interested in knowing more about the streaming service's T&Cs and people worldwide are now also searching for ‘updates to Netflix's T&Cs.’
Annie Murphy and Salma Hayek star in Black Mirror Season 6
Casino Alpha discovered that searches for "Netflix terms and conditions" soared by 596% within just over three days since the release of Black Mirror's new season.
Starring Salma Hayek, the first episode of the sixth season of Black Mirror titled ‘Joan is Awful’ was released on June 16th. It features a dramatic situation that resulted from a common everyday mistake: accepting the terms and conditions of an online service without reading them. An average woman named Joan, played by Annie Murphy, is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life, in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek.
People in the UK have so far shown an especially high interest in knowing more about Netflix's terms and conditions, followed by those in Australia and the US. Within just 80 hours of the release of the new Black Mirror season, 596% more people searched for "Netflix terms and conditions" on Google. This is happening on the backdrop of an already increased concern for the streaming service's new stance on tackling password sharing.
"Without triggering any spoiler alerts, it is clear that despite today's awareness of data privacy concerns being higher than ever, it is so easy to forget that terms and conditions are, in fact, a contract,” said Tudor Turiceanu, CEO of Casino Alpha, “Companies know that realistically, very few will sit there and read the T&Cs carefully, though clearly, as the data we analysed shows, many became more aware of them following Black Mirror's first episode.”
“This may be a good time for policy makers to intervene and make it easier for users to understand what they are agreeing to because telling people to just read the small print rarely works. Of course, this is a very difficult task, but then so was GDPR legislation at the time. There is some relief, though, in knowing that companies will avoid hiding any Godzillas in the small print for fear of some Samaritan lawyer out there eventually spotting it."
What is Black Mirror?
Created by Charlie Brooker, the British hit series Black Mirror explores the great leaps in technology, especially those involving screens, and the darker implications they may have. First released in 2011, Black Mirror has so far won 27 awards, of which six Emmys, and totalled 109 nominations.